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Thursday, 20 June 2013

Business

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Esmond Bulmer - Cider and more Besides

Esmond Bulmer describes how the Bulmer family built the world's largest cider company over more than a century. As an MP between 1974 and 1987 he saw at first hand how little those in industry understood each other. He left the House of Commons to chair the company until he retired. He describes how the world in which he was brought up of patriotism, a paternalistic approach to employees, the moral teaching of the Church of England, a gentlemanly approach to the rules of capitalism and respect for authority all fell apart; how the failure of the political class to understand and to foster the creation of wealth in an increasingly competitive world led to decline which sometimes appears inexorable; how Britain's failure to define its relationship with Europe has frustrated the creation of a new political settlement and how the media, with its relentless concentration on the short term, frustrates the long term strategies on which our prosperity, and perhaps in a global context, even man's survival on the earth untimely depends.

Brian Greenwood’s experiences in building what was once Britain’s largest privately-owned menswear chain coupled with 50 years involvement in independent education, together with a very wide range of sporting interests, all make for entertaining, informative and frequently amusing reading. This profusely illustrated book with its foreword by Lord Norman Tebbit CH ranges from the origins of the Greenwood menswear empire, through the acquisition of other firms such as Dunn & Co. and Hodges - once a household name throughout South Wales and the south west - to a succession of commercial disasters in the period of the early 90s recession.

Parallel to the business story are the affairs of one of the North’s leading independent schools - Woodhouse Grove and tales of sporting activities as diverse as athletics, rugby and hunting in South Africa.

In writing his memoirs of a long and interesting life, the author sets out to produce a book which would never be dull but would rather be a thoroughly enjoyable read - he has succeeded!

Author

Brian Greenwood has led a widely varied life as Chairman of Britain's largest privately owned menswear chain, Chairman of numerous property companies and as the longest serving Chairman of any Public School. His sporting interests have ranged from Athletics to Deer Stalking. His family and business life have seen both triumphs and tragedies.

His life has been a complex tapestry with many colours and hues. Its story will be enjoyed by all who read it.

He and his wife Enid live near Harrogate; they have a son and daughter and four adult children.

Reviews

'The rise of the Greenwood family fortunes began in Bradford in the 1850's when Brian Greenwood's great-great-grandfather took up the trade of hatter, which was carried on by his son and then grandson, who expanded the business into a gentlemen's outfitters. Shop! traces the fortunes and misfortunes of his descendents - most notably Brian Greenwood himself - through a hundred and fifty tumultuous years including two terrible wars, the devastating slump and depression of the inter-war period, the height and the fall of the British Empire and that of the Greenwood empire too.

The story has in it the stuff of a TV saga.'

Rt Hon Lord Tebbit CH

'Brian Greenwood's life could make a novel. In fact, he's now writing three thrillers based on his experiences.'

Described as the last of the 'old guard' to leave the Wm. Morrison boardroom. Roger Owen has a captivating story to tell. In From Bricks to Beans he provides a fascinating snapshot of life at the top of one of the country's biggest supermarkets.

As the title playfully suggests, Roger Owen began his working life more interested in bricks and mortar than in fruit and veg. A quantity surveyor with an eye on his future prospects, he took a job with local supermarket chain Morrisons and was given the task of acquiring new locations, overseeing the building of new stores and expanding the company's rental income. When he joined the company in 1975, the chain had twelve stores and one warehouse, all in the Bradford area. When he left, the company was a giant, with over four hundred shops built or under development from Inverness to Gibraltar, numerous depots, produce pack
houses, factories, abattoirs and a new multi-million pound headquarters. Bricks to Beans tells the story of
this phenomenal growth from the point of view of the man who helped make it
happen.

Away from the building site and the board room, Roger describes his
family life with wife Lena and stepsons Glen and Jason, his travels for both
business and pleasure to destinations far and wide and the agony and the
ecstasy of supporting Bradford City FC. Roger’s down-to earth, warm personality
is evident throughout. A natural storyteller, he recalls the time he inadvertently posed as footballer Michael Owen's uncle, not his entirely successful foray into the world of greyhound racing and an unconventional business meeting which saw him dress as a scuba-diver.

Roger Owen interviewed by Carl Gresham on Bradford Community Broadcasting

In his thirty years at Arthur Bell & Sons, Professor Raymond Miquel CCMI, CBE transformed the traditional whisky distillers into one of the most successful companies in Scotland with the Bell's brand becoming a household name.

At the same time Bell's maintained a social responsibility for its workforce and local communities as well as an active policy in sport, personal development and welfare reflecting Miquel's own priorities and beliefs.

He makes no secret of his commitment to Scotland and his belief that local Scottish companies and workers can, given the leadership and direction, compete as equals with the best in the world.

The Bell's takeover of Canning Town Glass and its political implications is described along with the takeover of Gleneagles Hotel. The impact of the latter would have a significant baring on the ensuing battle Miquel had with Guinness.

Karen Cunningham tells of the intrigue and double standards throughout the Guinness bid and .the subsequent disappearance of one of Scotland's strongest independent companies.

After Bell's he looked for a new challenge with Bellhaven Brewery. After accomplishing so much in two short years Miquel was ousted before achieving his ambitious objectives.

Away from business matters the book covers his period in sports administration. As Chairman of the Scottish Sports Council he faced head on the difficulties of running a government quango.

His involvement with Lees of Scotland which he saved from administration in 1993 and floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 2005 is well documented, as is his continuing association with Glasgow University Business School.

Derek Finlay's story covers not only his professional life, but describes, with a wonderful feel for language, his personal life from childhood in Kew, college years at Cambridge, the character building experience as a National Service Platoon Commander, to the present day. This book is informative without being prosy; touching without being sentimental; very evocative of the 1930s and 40s, while touching on times past and relating them to the present.

Derek Finlay has experienced a diverse and prestigious career within British and International Industry. After eighteen years, the last seven as a Director, with management consultants McKinsey and Company Inc., he embarked upon a highly successful 14 year career with the H.J. Heinz Company where he moved to the World Headquarters in Pittsburgh on his appointment as Senior Vice President - Corporate Development, and a member of the Board of Directors. Itis an exciting and honest story of a career built on the foundation of early family tragedy, private ambition and the strong values of integrity and decent business ethics.

Derek Finlay was born at the home of his parents in Kew, Surrey. His education began at Kew College followed by Kingston Grammar School.

After securing a BA Degree in Economics and Law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge he embarked on a highly successful business career, first he spent eighteen years with McKinsey & Company Inc. then began a fourteen year-career with H.J. Heinz Company. He also spent three years in the textile industry when he became Chairman of Dawson International plc.

He now lives in The Mains of Grantully Castle in Scotland with his wife Una; they have a daughter, two sons and three grandchildren.

Foreword by Sir Anthony O'Reilly OA, KBEThe
book is hugely instructive on the methods of management that were used to
achieve goals ...........His recollections and experiences in Dawson International
allow him to conclude that failure is as instructive as success, and his
analysis of what the future holds for manufacturing businesses in the UK
against the lower cost manufacturing base in the East is both incontestable and
holds many ominous lessons ahead for European industry.Author

Through a Looking Glass is the true story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. David Hutchinson, 59 years old and retired from a life spent in international business, was kidnapped by criminals and sold to the FARC, the main Colombian guerrilla.

A nine-month forced march through the fierce terrain of Colombia ensued but the author makes little of this and we can only guess his feelings when he is told ‘You pay, you go free’. But this is not a one sided story. David Hutchinson incorporates his family’s side of the story; their efforts to contact him and the FARC: a whole picture of the kidnap is created.

Because this is the story of David Hutchinson’s long march, there is a pace to the narrative. Interspersed with

this are pen-portraits of the various guerrilleros with whom he comes into contact and mini biographies of other captives and the limited occupations of the captives such as chess and wildlife watching.

When he is finally allowed to make a phone call to his home, there is the constant fear that it will be traced. The whole group could then be attacked by the air force, as did happen. This is not just kidnapping; this is war. The air force flies overhead and the army constantly track the guerrilla. They run, they fight and they die, it is a constant battle for survival. Interest is added by giving details of the political and social background and of how the kidnappings first started. Half the kidnaps in the world happen in Colombia. This is an enthralling memoir, which will both fascinate and horrify the reader.

David Hutchinson was born in 1943 in Peshawar, India (now Pakistan) of British parents, John and Antonia. They returned to England in 1947, where David went to school and to Oxford. David married Graciela Busto from Argentina whom he had two children. After her death from cancer he married his second wife Maria Cecilia (Nanette) Muñoz, from the Philippines. He was president of the Colombian-British Chamber of Commerce, Bototà 1993-97 and in 1998 was warded an MBE for services to British-Colombian Trade. He now lives in Barcelona.

Review

Through a Looking Glass - a great title for a great book! Memoir Club, did such a good job.

Roger

Just to say that I read and much enjoyed David’s book. As I read it I could hear him speaking.

I found the chapters on the members of the FARC that encountered, and his fellow captives (and similarities between some of them), particularly interesting and you have a phenomenal memory to describe your experiences so vividly!

Jeremy

What an excellent book. I wonder if I enjoyed it because it was you, and knowing you made it fun, but I think it was just well written. I liked that it wasn't oppressive, full of violence and gore, more depressing, as other books on this sort of subject sometimes are. The human elements, not romanticized, and appropriately brief, were appropriate as encounters in the military would be. I also like how you presented all sides without hammering the points. The wildlife made it delightful. I can’t wait for Jeff to come home and read it

This is an extraordinary, compelling memoir, spanning a life of ninety four years; starting on the day of his birth; the day ‘The German Zeppelins belligerently invaded the blue sky of England’. His memoirs chart the life of a man with a voracious appetite for challenges and new experiences. He vividly recounts, with humour and anecdotes, his many, colourful experiences in business, RAF, sailing, driving, fishing, plus business stays and holiday travels to almost every country around the world. This context provides the title for the book Land Sea and Air.

This unique collection of life experiences will appeal to many audiences. It is an enthralling, fast moving, chronological journey through history, his life, his work and social experiences. His unusual descriptive writing style adds colour and clear vision to assist appreciation of circumstance, time and place, making it very difficult to stop reading.

His love of flying, driving cars and many hobbies provide the backdrop for many absorbing stories. His business experiences, range from early ‘cold calling’, working for Bakelite and inventing an innovative method of producing sanding discs, and in latter years, coming out of retirement on more than one occasion to meet new business challenges in demanding economic times.

The memoir deals with the tragic death of his son Roger in a road traffic accident; that impacted the rest of the author’s life. Mr Simpson married twice with children, and had happy memories of his life in his home in Duford Wood and Little Langley Farm, near Petersfield.

Thin On The Ground
describes an episode in the history of Britain’s overseas territories that
transformed knowledge about their potential, as ecologists and soil surveyors
set off into the bush or the forest and mapped the resources for agriculture
and rural development.

It is the first
time that the story of land resource survey, beginning between the two World
Wars and reaching its full flowering in 1950-1975, has been told. The author
has drawn upon his own research and reminiscences, and accounts by over 80
former staff. Descriptions of scientific advances are interwoven with their
recollections of events, sometimes bizarre, in the field. The book contributes
both to the history of science and to Colonial history.

Anthony Young has over 40 years’ experience in all aspects of land
resources, from survey to evaluation, planning and policy. Beginning in the
Colonial Service, as Soil Surveyor, Malawi, his subsequent career has been
divided between university research and practical contributions to rural
development, through work with FAO, the World Bank, international agricultural
research institutions, and consultant companies.

Foreword by Professor Stephen Nortcliff - Secretary General, International Union of Soil Sciences 2003-2010In this text, Anthony Young seeks to recognise the pioneering efforts of those who undertook the surveys. This book is the story of a great era of land resource surveys, emphasising the importance of the experiences gained from observing the natural environment in the field. It also recognises the contribution of these scientists to the history of the Colonial Service. In gathering information from some 80 former colleagues, the author asked them to include reminiscences of unusual experiences in the field, which provide lighter moments in the text. Anthony Young is to be congratulated in bringing together information about the surveys, and recording the careers and achievements of the surveyors. This early work, carried out initially under the auspices of the Colonial Office and subsequently by the UK-based Land Resources Division, provides much of the basic knowledge we have about the natural environments of many of the regions today. This text will help to bring about a wider awareness of the wealth of information collected during this era.

BBC Correspondent John Simpson describes Christopher Rundle as
‘the guru in the mall.’ In his own book, Rundle now gives a vivid account of
his own experiences in Iran and Afghanistan.

Few
people are in a better position to write about Iran and Afghanistan than
Christopher Rundle. In this, his newly published memoir, he recounts his time
working in embassies in both countries. This incident typifies the volatile Iran that Christopher Rundle knew in
1979: I was walking through a part of central Tehran where street vendors had
their stalls. From the back a large, bearded man started chanting ‘Sag-e
khareji koshteh bayad shavad! The foreign dog must be killed!’ He was probably
unaware that I understood him; but that only seemed to make the threat more
real.He also provides enlightening accounts of
Afghanistan, from his first posting there in 1968 to the present day. His
fascinating descriptions contain some surprising background information,
including first hand details of Afghanistan after the Taliban. He pulls no
punches in examining the USA’s war on terrorism.ReviewI enjoyed this book greatly, and am so grateful that The Memoir Club exists to bring us the work of people as valuable and interesting as Christopher Rundle.

Thanks to Fredi is a fascinating look at the life of
John Izat. Drawing on his experiences as both stockbroker and farmer his
approach is logical but tempered with a great deal of creativity and he is able
to recall incidents accurately without resorting to nostalgia.

Mr
Izat begins with a brief family history and some delightful memories of school
years before describing the way of life in the central belt of Scotland during
the war years. Later he had looked forward to National Service with foreboding
but it turned out to be the most character-forming period of his life and he
describes some of the incidents and the people he met; demobbed four months
early he entered Oxford as a much more mature person. His chosen career was
stock broking in which he spent twenty highly successful years; for thirteen of
those years good fortune and his love of farming enabled his family to grow up
in the country and eventually for him to decide to give up the city career to
become a full time farmer, with the support of his wife Frederica Ann (Fredi). With
an efficient and economical style John Izat describes the workings of livestock
markets and the financial implications. This part of the book with an emphasis
on the countryside is a pleasant contrast to the one of city banking and the
reader can feel the pleasure in the environment and the enjoyment that the
author gains from his work. Alexander John Rennie Izat was born in July 1932,
to Sir James Rennie Izat and Lady Eva Mary Steen Izat of Balliliesk. He was
educated at Trinity College Glenalmond and later Oriel College Oxford.

The
years between 1955-75 were spent as a stockbroker with the firm Williams de
Broë & Co latterly as partner in charge of the research and institutional
dealing departments.

He
is a past chairman of the Shires Income plc, United Auctions (Scotland) plc and
the Moredun Research Institute - and a past director of Shires Smaller
Investment Trust plc, Glasgow Investment Managers Ltd, the Moredun Foundation,
Cromlix Estates and College Valley Estates.

He
was a member of Council of Glenalmond College 1975-1995 and is a past president
of Fife-Kinross NFU & the Kinross Agricultural Association; director of
Royal Highland Agricultural Society 1985-97 (honorary treasurer 1992-96).

Review

This book will appeal to a wide audience in that it covers so much, but in concise terms.

This
is a colourful and poetic memoir written with an unusual degree of candour. It
is a celebration of life and highlights man's need to belong to a place, to
reconnect with the land and the animals and to find the spiritual values that
have been mislaid in today's society. The majority of the author's life has
been spent farming in the Scottish hills, in Inverness-shire and Dumfriesshire.
He tells of his love of the land and the various characters he has encountered
throughout his life, describing those he admires with warmth, those he does not
with diplomacy, but all with a touch of humour. Patrick is a natural writer and
poet. The book is interspersed with his lyrical verse and anecdotes from his
vast experiences, which stretch from student shepherd to reluctant resident of
a Grade I Listed Castle on the coast of the western Lake District. Those Blue Remembered Hills will
undoubtedly bring a smile to the face of everyone who reads it. Born in 1930
Patrick Gordon-Duff was reared in Moray (near the mouth of the Findhorn) and
educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford, before National Service in the
Cameron Highlanders. His desire for a life on the land was not approved by his
parents but eventually brought him great satisfaction and a large circle of
friends. He has dedicated his life to the people of the countryside, describes
himself as a tinker and is happiest wandering among the people of the hills and
islands.

Reviews

Like Patrick himself, ThoseBlue Remembered Hills is a remarkable production.

The Scotsman

Your book is fantastic and your memory prodigious!

Susan Bell OBE

This book has much humour as well as its serious side and is interspersed with the author's poetry. All in all it is a very good read.

Guy De-Moubray - City Of Human MemoriesThis story begins in that distant world of long ago where children
of colonial parents hardly ever saw them. Schools in Brussels, Sussex and
Scotland were followed by war in the Burmese jungle as a teenager.

Guy de
Moubray has had a most unusual and varied life which he recounts with flair and
imagination, taking the reader on a revealing journey of discovery. But this
book is much more than the tale of a successful career. For he recounts with
deep feeling personal and revealing emotions focusing on the relationship with
his wife, Daphne. This relationship was the golden thread binding his life
together, strengthened with his deep religious faith. The core working years of his life saw him involved
in international finance and monetary and economic policy with the Treasury,
the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund. During these years he
was Personal Assistant to Per Jacobson, Chairman of the IMF.

A
well-crafted memoir is more than a collection of details and anecdotes, it is a
glimpse into a person's soul And A Pudding Full of Plums is certainly no
exception, providing a deep excavation into the life of an extraordinary man. Jack
Jeffery chronicles his trife with candour, wit and humility. From his rural
childhood in County Durham, growing up against the backdrop of the Second World
War, to an illustrious career in the water industry and public health, Jeffery
presents as much a social history as an autobiographical tale.

For
those interested in the privatisation of the water industry in the late 1980s
and early 90s, the book provides a valuable insight; giving a detailed account
of the author's dealings with colleagues and government officials during the
period. And although modestly understated, rt is clear to see how his influence
has had a positive impact on the shape of the industry. As our very own
Chairman of Convocation, and Chair of a number of organisations including
Northumbria Larder (the regional food organisation for the North East.)

This is the story of an
exceptional man who has made, and continues to make, a powerful contribution to society; but it is also an honest
personal account of the internal challenges and dilemmas encountered by him and
how they were faced and answered. It is a very interesting read. Enjoy it!